March is Women's History Month
The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum join in commemorating and encouraging the study, observance and celebration of the vital role of women in American history.
Shall Not Be Denied: Women Fight for the Vote
Handwritten letters, speeches, photographs and scrapbooks, created by American suffragists who persisted for more than 70 years to win voting rights for women, are featured in a new exhibition at the Library of Congress. "Shall Not Be Denied: Women Fight for the Vote," tells the story of the largest reform movement in American history with documents and artifacts from the women who changed political history 100 years ago.
Explore the exhibition »
Image Credit: Library of Congress
Women's History Site from the National Park Service
From the lives of young, immigrant women who worked the textile mills at Lowell National Historical Park to those of the female shipyard workers who were essential to the home front during World War II at Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historic Park, women's history can be found at every park. If you want to understand our nation's history, explore the remarkable legacies of American women.
Women's History at America's National Parks »
Image Credit: Detail of . . . [Mural: Women of the Wiregrass, 126 N. St. Andrews Street, Dothan, Alabama] (Library of Congress)
Women's Rights
2019-2020 marks the 100th anniversary of women in the U.S. attaining the right to vote. The National Archives invites you to browse the wealth of records and information documenting the women's rights movement in the US, including photographs, documents, audiovisual recordings, educational resources, exhibits, articles, blog posts, lectures and events.
National Archive's Women's Rights »
Image Credit: Bastille Day spells prison for sixteen suffragettes who picketed the White House. Miss Julia...; 7/19/1917; American Unofficial Collection of World War I Photographs, 1917 - 1918; Records of the War Department General and Special Staffs, Record Group 165; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD.
The Women of Four Wars
The limited but important roles women played in Korea and Vietnam paved the path to more expanded -- and in some cases more dangerous -- specialties in recent wars.
Find out more about women in the military »
Image credit: Color digital image of Lee Lane in uniform sitting in the cockpit doorway of a helicopter (Library of Congress)
For Teachers
Put the power of primary sources to work in the classroom. Browse ready-to-use lesson plans, student activities, collection guides and research aids.
Educational resources »
Image credit: Encre L. Marquet by Eugène Grasset, 1892 (Library of Congress)
2020 Event Highlights
Exhibition
On View Through January 3, 2021
Rightfully Hers: American Women and the Vote
In celebration of the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, this exhibition highlights the relentless struggle of diverse activists throughout U.S. history to secure voting rights for all American women.
(National Archives)
Exhibition
February 21 – May 17, 2020
Hearts of Our People: Native Women Artists
Women have long been the creative force behind Native American art, yet their individual contributions have been largely unrecognized, instead treated as anonymous representations of entire cultures. This landmark exhibition, featuring 81 artworks, is the first major thematic show to explore the artistic achievements of Native women and establishes their rightful place in the art world.
(Smithsonian Institution, Renwick Gallery)
Exhibition
March 6, 2020 - April 2021
Creating Icons: How We Remember Woman Suffrage
To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, which recognized women’s right to vote, the National Museum of American History will open Creating Icons: How We Remember Women’s Suffrage. Highlighting women’s achievements in winning suffrage, it invites audiences to explore how the country celebrates milestones, what people as a nation remember, what (and who) has been forgotten or silenced over time, and how those exclusions helped create the cracks and fissures in a movement that continues to impact women’s politics and activism.
(National Museum of American History)
Exhibition
On View Through September 7, 2020
Rosa Parks: In Her Own Words
This Library of Congress exhibition is the first major exhibition to showcase the Rosa Parks Collection, which came to the Library in 2014. The collection includes thousands of pages of Parks' personal correspondence, letters from presidents, her writings from the time of the Montgomery Bus Boycott and about 2,500 photographs, as well as her Presidential Medal of Freedom and Congressional Gold Medal.
(Library of Congress)
Wikipedia Edit-a-thon
March 21
Women Photojournalists: an Art+Feminism Wikipedia Edit-a-Thon
Library of Congress staff will collaborate with the public at this event to expand and improve information in Wikipedia about women photojournalists. Anyone with an interest in learning to use Wikipedia, or in researching women in the arts, is encouraged to attend.
The event is free, but due to expected demand, tickets are recommended. Get Tickets »
This event is part of DC-area Art+Feminism edit-a-thons.
(Library of Congress)
Additional Events
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